Radu 386
Radu is one of the students aboard The Christa; he was the first Andromedan to enroll as a student in the Starcademy. Biography Radu was the 386th hatchling of his cycle, and grew up without the benefit of biological parents or a nuclear family. Little is known about his upbringing before entering the Starcademy otherwise, though his lack of knowledge about Human and Rigelian cultures suggests that it was vastly different to what the other students experienced. Being Andromedan, Radu is the one true 'alien' of the crew. He has difficulty relating to the other students, likely due to differences in culture and upbringing, and lacks confidence in his interactions with others. He is nonetheless generally accepted by most of the crew (save Harlan), being kind and thoughtful in nature, though he is not always understood or correctly interpreted by them. Personality Soft-spoken and submissive, he often finds it difficult to express himself and make his voice heard among the group, particularly when confronted with Harlan or Catalina's dominating personalities. His introverted personality often interferes with his ability to succeed in his endeavors, which is likely the reason he ended up in the remedial class with the other 'space cases'. He is also very different in the fact that all Andromedans posses their own internal atmosphere, complete with their own personal Barometric pressure. Unlike humans, the temperature of 98.6 is alarmingly low. When Radu catches a virus after rescuing a teddy bear floating in space for Rosie, he show the typical signs of illness for Andromedans. Radu has exhibited disruptions in his internal atmosphere by either venting snow (falling barometric pressure) or steam (rising pressure) from his ears. He's also been known to produce thunder on occasion. Andromedans also bounce and vent steam from their ears when they need to match their internal atmosphere to that of their surroundings. Radu is also preoccupied with the concept of family, and seems to view this as something he was deprived of. He displays an interest in the families of the other crew members, occasionally questioning them about their home lives, and eventually comes to consider the crew as his family in "It's My Birthday, Too (Yeah!)". Any discord among the crew seems to upset Radu more so than the others, and he actively avoids confrontation. His appeasing nature, however, is insufficient to counter Harlan's animosity toward him. Harlan's general prejudice against Andromedans colors all of their interactions, though in later episodes Harlan begins to accept Radu somewhat, though not without reservations. Radu is exceptional in his acceptance of Spung oracle Sorola Elmira, despite the less-than-pleasant history between their two species. While Radu is skeptical of Elmira at first, by the end of their first meeting in "Spung at Heart", he clearly has a crush on the young fortune-teller. In this regard, he is rather the opposite of Harlan. He also develops a crush on Suzee in the second season. Radu's excellent sense of direction aids him in his usual position in the Command Post as Navigator for The Christa. Radu's spiral ears give him super-sensitive hearing. This is a great asset, but can also cause him much discomfort if things get a bit loud. His extraordinary sense of hearing gives him a superb sense of balance. Combined with his high molecular density, he is extremely difficult to shake up or knock down. Radu's compact structure also makes him as strong as approximately ten Earthers, able to lift in excess of eight hundred pounds with ease. This molecular configuration is also responsible for Radu's long hair...it is just too difficult to cut, so Andromedans don't bother. As with all members of his race, Radu possesses low-level psionic powers. This gives him a finely-tuned sense of direction. He always knows where he is and never gets lost. In addition, he is able to "hear" the thoughts of native Andromedan animals (such as gerkels), and is also able to receive "messages" from other psionics, like Elmira. Basic Facts Height: 5'4 (Alien/Earth Standard) Weight: 200 lbs Birthday: Shortly after the end of the Spung-Andromedan War, approximately 2250. Radu sometimes hesitates when he speaks. That's because he's so busy trying to focus his hearing that he often has trouble hearing himself think. His full name is Radu 386, because he was the 386th Andromedan hatched in that cycle. Radu's people, the Andromedans, were enslaved by the Spung and were forced to fight a war against the UPP. After the war, the Andromedans made peace with the UPP, but Radu is the first Andromedan ever to attend the Starcademy. Category:Characters Category:The Crew